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PENNCREST 65, GARNET VALLEY 59 » Reigning Player of the Year Tyler Norwood scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lions and move into second place on the school’s career scoring list. Matt Arbogast added 11 points and Chris Mills 10 for the Lions.

Austin Laughlin tossed in 19 points and Greg Vlassoupoulos 12 for the Jaguars.

BONNER & PRENDERGAST 68, ROMAN CATHOLIC 66>> Donovan Rodriguez scored five of his eight points in overtime, all from the free throw line, to lift Bonner & Prendergast to a 68-66 victory over Roman Catholic in Catholic League boys basketball action Friday.

The Friars shot 10-for-12 from the line in the extra session. Isaiah Wong scored 18 of his game-high 23 points after halftime. Ajiri Johnson and Tariq Ingraham chipped in with 15 points apiece.

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By Tyler Sandora

It was at this time a year ago The Haverford School had started out 5-0 in Inter-Ac play. The Fords had sole possession of first place in a league they haven’t won since 1999, and before that 1978.

But in the sixth game of the regular season, the Fords dropped a five-overtime thriller to Germantown Academy, which sparked a downhill slide.

Haverford ended up finishing the regular season with a record of 7-3, but that was only good enough for third place. Germantown and Episcopal Academy split the league title with records of 8-2.

“We couldn’t handle a run,” junior guard Christian Ray said on his team’s meltdown last season. “When they went on a run we couldn’t respond with our own run. That’s on me and Kharon (Randolph) for leadership, we just couldn’t handle a run.”

This season, the Fords are in a familiar place. With experience returning from last year — they didn’t graduate a single varsity player — Haverford has once again gotten out to a strong start in Inter-Ac play.

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By Owen McCue

Back in late December, Bonner-Prendergast was on the wrong side of a thriller.

In their last game before the new year, the Friars lost to Plymouth Whitemarsh in double overtime, even after Tariq Ingraham twice extended the game at the buzzer.

Bonner let PW guard Ish Horn slip down court for a fastbreak dunk to seal the game in the final seconds of the second overtime.

It was a growing moment.

“We learned from that experience,” senior forward Ajiri Johnson said. “Close games like that we gotta communicate more. That’s when you gotta talk more.”

To start Philadelphia Catholic League play, the Friars have already been on the other side of two tightly contested contests.

Johnson’s putback dunk at the buzzer gave Bonner a two-point victory against St. Joseph’s Prep last weekend. On Friday at the Community College of Philadelphia, the Friars stayed unbeaten in Catholic League play with a 68-64 victory against Roman Catholic.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Leading by eight points as the clock ticked under two minutes, conventional wisdom might have favored Chester dropping its three-quarter-court press, on the road against a Penn Wood team with decent outside shooters.

But the calculus for coach Keith Taylor was simple: The press earned the Clippers that lead in the fourth quarter, so why not trust his team to execute and finish it out?

The Clippers rewarded their coach’s confidence, holding Penn Wood down for a 57-46 Del Val League win. It’s Chester’s seventh consecutive victory and marked a sedate evening at the Shoebox in the first home game since Tuesday’s affair with Academy Park had to be suspended with a minute to play due to a brawl involving fans.

“We practice it and do it how we do it in practice, to slow the teams down,” guard Rahmee Gilbert said. “… We all take pride on defense. Bigs come in and play their part. Guards we come in and hold our defenders down.”

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Webmaster’s note:  The Clippers play the Harrisburg Tigers tomorrow at 3:30 in Chester. Delcohoops.com will bring you all the action in our Game-of-the-Week broadcast starting at 3:15!

 

By Matthew DeGeorge

When Strath Haven and Garnet Valley retreated to their locker rooms at halftime Wednesday night, the Panthers were easily the more satisfied side in their game-plan execution.They pounded the ball into the post to Cooper Driscoll. They hit 3-pointers via Jordan Graves. They dampened the tempo to a languid pace and were rewarded with a three-point lead.

But when the Jaguars adapted and zigged, the Panthers didn’t have a corresponding zag. And they didn’t have Austin Laughlin, either.

The Garnet Valley guard poured in a game-high 28 points, including the go-ahead basket early in the third quarter and the first eight points of the fourth to salt away a 68-47 Central League win, Garnet Valley’s eighth consecutive victory.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Marple Newtown captain Minh Tran belatedly landed on the court via a string of successive opportunities that the guard has received and taken full advantage of.Like when coach Sean Spratt stepped in two years ago and instituted open gyms, at which Tran made himself a fixture, undeterred by falling short in JV tryouts as a freshman and sophomore. Or when in the spring of his junior year, Spratt found himself short on bodies for an offseason tournament and gave Tran a nod.

Or when Tran’s work ethic earned him a varsity spot as a junior with the understanding he’d play primarily on JV, where injuries vaulted him into a primary role.

“Working hard is the number one thing. I just had a goal in mind,” Tran said last week. “I never really made it to the team before, and when (Spratt) came in, I was like, this is my opportunity to show the coach that I have something. That summer I just worked my butt off and that’s why I’m here right now.”

Born in Vietnam, Tran gravitated toward basketball after coming to the United States just before his third birthday. Aunt took to calling him “Jordan” from a young age for the volume of basketball videos he consumed. When his family moved from Upper Darby to Marple when Tran was in eighth grade, he made the pilgrimage to New Ardmore Park in his neighborhood on a daily basis with friends, shooting for hours on end.

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